Bronbeek country estate - Arnhem

Between 1817 and 1820, the wealthy Hermen Steygerwalt had a country estate built at a natural spring in the Veluwezoom near Velp. He called it Bronbeek. Carel Johan Verkouteren demolished the old house in 1842 and had a neo-classical villa built on the foundations and the park of more than 8 hectares embellished. In 1854, King Willem III bought the country house. He expanded the villa, modernised the park and had a gatehouse built at the entrance.

He made little use of his country estate. In 1859, he donated Bronbeek to the State of the Netherlands, on condition that the State would build a home there for soldiers who had served in the Royal Dutch East Indies Army (KNIL). The main building of the Colonial Military Infirmary Bronbeek was designed by the renowned architect Willem Nicolaas Rose and opened on 19 February 1863. The villa became the official residence of the commander. For almost a century, the residents of the home maintained a mixed agricultural business on the estate. For this purpose, a new farm was built on the estate in 1912. In the home building, they maintained the collection of objects from the Dutch East Indies that had been donated to Bronbeek over the years.

In 1960, the estate was transformed into a walking park according to the design of the then Heidemij. The historic structure and buildings were preserved. There are now many memorials and commemorative monuments. A curiosity in the summer months is the plant calendar. Former military personnel still live in the home building on the estate, but now from all parts of the Dutch armed forces. The museum on Dutch colonial history is located in the same building. The former hospital building of the Bronbekers has been converted into a conference centre with an Indian restaurant.